Entries with the tag: ilya kovalchuk

When it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, special teams play is always key.

There could be times when a team need a big power play goal to get the lead, tie the game or blow the game wide open. At other times, a team needs to kill a penalty to preserve the lead, preserve a tie and to at least stay in the game.

Last night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Los Angeles Kings and the New Jersey Devils, the Devils did neither. Ultimately, it cost them the hockey game as they lost by a score of 4-0 and are now just one loss away from being swept and losing out on the Cup.

In last night’s tilt, the Devils’ power play went 0 for 6. They had some good looks on Kings’ netminder Jonathan Quick but either Kings’ defensemen were able to get in the way and block shots or Quick was there to make the save when he needed to.

Not only were the Devils not able to score on the power play, but the team had a 5-on-3 advantage for a minute in the first period and could not put the puck in the net. At this point in the hockey game, the score was still 0-0 and had the Devils been able to execute, it could have ended up being a much different hockey game.

For the New York Rangers, this postseason has been a story of deja vu.

There have been many similarities in each round from the number of games played, to the goal scorers in each game as well as the general outcome of each tilt. While this is certainly interesting, it is time for the Blueshirts to go off script.

In each series, the Rangers have taken a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 only to lose both times to the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals, respectively. In fact, only once in this whole postseason have the Rangers been able to win two straight games and that was back in Games 6 and 7 of their first round series against the Senators.

The Blueshirts are coming off a game in which they were badly outplayed by the New Jersey Devils, except for a portion of the third period when they got two quick goals from Dan Girardi and Chris Kreider. Luckily, the team got a terrific 36-save performance from their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as he made extremely timely saves against the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique and others.

The Rangers were also very lucky that the goal posts were on their side on Saturday afternoon. The Devils hit four of them and had at least one gone in, it could have been a much different hockey game.

Once again in this year’s postseason, New York Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was the story for his hockey club as his 36-save performance help shutout the New Jersey Devils in Game 3 at the Prudential Center by a score of 3-0.

Much like in Game 1, except with a lot more shots in this afternoon’s tilt, Lundqvist stopped everything the Devils threw at him in the hockey game. He was especially good in the first period when he stopped several odd man rushes and made a terrific glove save on Devils’ sniper Ilya Kovalchuk in close.

Lundqvist also made several big stops in the middle frame to keep the game at 0-0 in the third period. The Devils outshot the Rangers 15-9 in that period but again were not able to put one past the “King”.

Then, in the third period, the Blueshirts found a way to put pucks past Martin Brodeur, who, like Lundqvist, was also have a solid game between the pipes for his hockey club. Rangers’ defenseman Dan Girardi put the team up 1-0 on the power play just over three minutes into the third period when a Brad Richards’ face-off win ended up in the back of the net off a Girardi snap shot that beat Brodeur stick side.

Two minutes later, the Rangers found the back of the net again when rookie Chris Kreider deflected a Ryan McDonagh shot past Brodeur for his fifth of the postseason and a 2-0 Rangers’ lead. While the Rangers did not generate a lot of offense all game long (22 shots), they were able to score two goals 1:57 apart.

If the New York Rangers want to have any kind of success this upcoming spring, they will need to do just that.

In last night’s 4-1 to the New Jersey Devils, the team looked like they were sleep walking. They put 23 shots on Devils’ netminder Martin Brodeur while giving far too many scoring chances to the Devils as guys like Ilya Kovalchuk, Patrik Elias, and David Clarkson (empty net) were able to strut their stuff in front of Blueshirts’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist.

Things are not going to get any easier for the Blueshirts. Tomorrow night, the club will take on the Ottawa Senators and then the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday night before coming home to take on the New York Islanders at Madison square Garden on Sunday night to kick off a 7-game homestand.

This is not the time for the Blueshirts to take their foots off the gas. While they may have somewhat of a comfortable lead in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, now is not the time to be inconsistent and for the most part, the team has been inconsistent over the last few weeks.

This is exactly what can be said of last night’s 2-0 shutout by the New York Rangers over the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden.

The team’s combined for just 28 shots on goal (yes, you read that right) with only two finding the back of the net. Luckily, it was the Blueshirts that found the back of the net on goals by Carl Hagelin and Ryan Callahan.

Callahan and Hagelin have become quite the dynamic duo for the Rangers since being put on the same line. They both hustle, they both forecheck, they both go hard to the net and they both have the offensive ability to create offense.

With his goal last night, Callahan now has 25 on the season. While Callahan was a scorer in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Guelph Storm, no one was quite sure what he would be able at the NHL level. Now, it looks like he may be able to crack the 30-goal mark.

While it always seems like the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils play a playoff brand of hockey when the two clubs meet, that will really be the case tonight when they will go at it at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers, who are on top of both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, are coming off of two straight wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. In those games, the club got excellent goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, played a physical style of hockey and won all the little battles within the game.

On the other side, the Devils might just be playing their best hockey of the season. The team from across the Hudson River has won five straight games and is putting the puck in the net with regularity, getting solid performances out of of both Ilya Kovalchuk and Martin Brodeur and playing with a swagger that has been missing from their game the last few seasons.

These two teams met last Wednesday night at the Prudential Center, where the Blueshirts lost a hard fought game 4-3 in a shootout. As I had mentioned last week, this was a game that the Rangers should have won so they will definitely be looking to get the two points tonight on home ice.

Looking back at last night’s tilt between the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils, it was a game that the Rangers should have come away with two points.

The Blueshirts had three 1-goal leads that they let slip away in a 4-3 shootout loss at the Prudential Center. While these things happen in hockey, they are things that could have been prevented with better defensive coverage in the Rangers’ zone.

On both the Devils’ second goal and tying goal in the game, the Rangers appeared to be lost in their own zone. It should also be noted that Devils’ sniper Ilya Kovalchuk should never be given that much room in the offensive zone.

With that said, it was not a terrible game for the Blueshirts. They showed some offense and with better defensive coverage in their own zone in the third period, could have easily come away with their third straight victory.

The 2010 NHL trading deadline is less than two months away, but one player that has been mired in trade rumors all season has been Atlanta Thrashers sniper Ilya Kovalchuk. The 26-year-old forward is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The Bruins, along with the Blackhawks and Kings, have been one the teams most commonly mentioned as possible suitors for the two-time 50-goal scorer, should he reach an impasse in contract talks with the Thrashers and hit the trade market. Recently, other teams such as the Islanders and Capitals have been brought up, but according to a reliable source, those two teams are long shots and the Bruins could very well be major players if and when the Kovalchuk sweepstakes take place.

The Bruins are very interested, but as this source pointed out, the current asking price is too high. Kovalchuk has made it known to the Thrashers and his agent Jay Grossman that if he was dealt, he would not sign long term and instead would test his value on the open market this summer. ESPN’s John Buccigross named Blake Wheeler, Tuukka Rask and a 2010 first-round pick (acquired in the Phil Kessel deal) as possible trade bait if the Bruins were to become serious contenders for Kovalchuk.

The New York Rangers dropped their second straight game yesterday afternoon in a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The loss keeps the Blueshirts in seventh place with 87 points. However, the Montreal Canadiens are in the eighth spot just one point (86 points) behind them and the Florida Panthers are in the ninth spot just two points behind (85 points).

The Rangers showed some character by battling back from a two-goal and one-goal defecit while also killing off nine Penguins’ power plays. However, Sid “the Kid” Crosby’s great effort put the Penguins ahead midway through the third period, giving the Penguins a 12-1-2 record in their last 15 games.

As we’ve said on this blog before, the club’s remaining schedule will not make things any easier for the Blueshirts. Tomorrow night, they take on the Atlantic Division leading New Jersey Devils followed by games against the red hot Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and a home-and-home series against the Philadelphia Flyers to close out the regular season.

Things certainly started right last night at Madison Square Garden when the New York Rangers raised Adam Graves’s No.9 to the rafters. It was a night filled with Ranger stars such as Mark Messier, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Rod Gilbert, Eddie Giacomin, Mike Gartner, as well as guys like Glenn Healy, Sergei Nemchinov, Tie Domi, Darren Langdon and Jeff Beukeboom, all there to give praise to one of their greatest mates, Adam Graves.

It was unfortunate that the current Ranger squad had to play afterwards because they put on a dismal performance against the lowly Atlanta Thrashers and lost 2-1 in a shootout. Yes, the team peppered Thrashers’ netminder Kari Lehtonen. Yes, Nikolai Zherdev played a tremendous game by generating many scoring chances. The team also got a good look at Artem Anisimov, who played well but needs more playing time to be effective. And yes, the team got a solid performance, with the exception of the shootout, from their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

However, it still wasn’t enough to be the second worst team in the NHL while also being a game in which they could have gained some ground on the New Jersey Devils as they lost to the Washington Capitals 5-2 last night.